Nissan Chafes at Renault Control

If you’re like most people, you haven’t been paying too close of attention to the whole Carlos Ghosn drama. It’s for the most part pretty dry stuff, although what’s coming from it could have huge implications for Nissan and Renault. The latest juicy details hint at what everyone already knows: Nissan really wants to ditch Renault.

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You see, Nissan is the larger of the two automakers, but thanks to some wheeling and dealing from way back in the 1990s, Renault actually has a commanding share in Nissan. At the same time, Nissan has a much smaller stake in Renault. That sucks for Nissan, especially since Renault chose Ghosn to lord over the Japanese automaker and it will likely select the new chairman for Nissan.

Naturally, Renault wants its new chairman to sit in the same position at Nissan, effectively keeping their “ally” in check. Kinda sounds like just about any abusive relationship.

A fascinating Financial Times article spells out how Nissan insiders say the automaker is wary of putting too much power in one man’s hands again, thanks to what happened with Ghosn. You could say that’s a convenient excuse and is part of the whole grand scheme Nissan has been rolling out, and maybe it is. One thing is clear: Nissan wants out of the alliance. It’s not saying so at the moment, and exiting will be messy, but anyone with a finger on the automaker’s pulse knows this. Renault is pretty much dead weight, choking out what Nissan really wants to do.

The real question at this point is how much longer can Renault maintain a strangle hold?